Monday, June 23, 2014

Weekend Quilting Ups and Downs (and now Up again ;)

So Friday afternoon I finished all of the background quilting for my Christmas Trees quilt and I was so excited to move onto the trees. I decided on some Rancher Red and some Lawn Green Magnifico by Superior Threads. Magnifico has a sheen to it that I just love because it adds a perfect pop!! And of course, you wan't your Christmas Trees to be "Merry and Bright" :)

Sadly, 5 stitches in, my needle broke (I still don't know why) and after an hour and a half of fiddling with it, I still couldn't fix it. I tried again on Saturday and just came away frustrated. The timing is off, so the needle goes down and hits the bobbin casing. Grrr. Barbara and I are going to try and fix it again today (any of your longarmers out there have any suggestions??) but I have a feeling we will be calling the handi dandy Maintenance Man.

EDIT - She Fixed It!!!! Have I ever told you how absolutely AMAzing my Mother in Law is!!!! Time to get back to some quilting :)

But, at least I have something else to work on while the long arm is down. Thanks for all of your help in picking a set of fabrics for my Metro Rings quilt. I went with Option 1 :) I already have the strips and setting triangles cut out. Time to start strip piecing ;)

8 comments:

Don't know about a long arm, but on a regular machine, there's an alignment mark to look for. Sometimes you can accidently knock the bobbin holder out of alignment when you change the bobbin (Ha! I typed "boobin"), and it won't work again until you get it lined up again. Check your manual for something about an alignment mark on the bobbin case, maybe in the troubleshooting section. That's probably all it is. It's probably just an engraved line or stamped mark. Might even check online. I'd check that before I'd call for service. You probably just knocked it out of place when you changed the bobbin.

Does your manual tell you how to re-time it? I've done it with mine a few times, it's a nail biter for sure, but really not THAT hard, just follow it step by step.I remember mine had a needle with a MARK on it in the middle and I had to make sure the mark was at the right spot when going up and down, took a bit of work. and the more you do it, the more comfortable you'll be with it.

I can't time my own longarm - my eyesight isn't good enough, so my dear husband gets the job! I've only had to time my machine 3 times in over 5 years - yippee!! It isn't difficult, just fiddly as you have to get the hook to hit in the right place on the needle scarf! Luckily I have free 24/7/365 tech service so I can call them and have them walk me through anything! I'm so glad your MIL was able to help you out! I think that when someone purchases a longarm, that is one of the things they need to walk you through in your training! At least if you have done it once with someone standing right there, it is easier to do using a manual or with a tech on the phone!

Search This Blog

Loading...

Happy Quilting Button

.

Keeping Busy

.

.

.

I Wrote a Book

My Sister's Shop

My Blog Designer

I Belong

PERMISSION - Please Play Nice

You do not need my permission to: 1 - use my photos when talking about my work, 2 -make something based on my work or 3 - refer to a post on my blog. However, I ask that you do agree to link back to this blog and acknowledge credit to Melissa of Happy Quilting.

Please feel free to use my patterns, designs, and tutorials to create and even sell your own handmade works but please do not reproduce or sell my patterns or tutorials themselves. Blog Links are always welcome!!!!

If you have any questions regarding what you can use from my blog please just email me. happyquiltingmelissa (at) gmail (dot) com. I promise to be nice :)